LBs continue as mystery position

Four of the top five high school linebackers in the 2011 class entered Tuesday as uncommitted prospects, a rarity to have that many remaining at one position with National Signing Day creeping this close.

National Signing Day - the first day that high school senior football stars can sign with a college - is only eight days away. C.J. Johnson dropped off that list Tuesday by revealing he would play for Ole Miss. The other top linebackers still without a future home are Curtis Grant of Richmond (Va.) Hermitage (No. 2 overall player in 2011), Tony Steward of St. Augustine (Fla.) Pedro Menendez (No. 13) and Stephone Anthony of Wadesboro (N.C.) Anson (No. 24).

Anthony visited Virginia Tech last weekend and said the visit was very comfortable, mainly because of the time he spent with the players and coaches. He particularly bonded with his cousin and host, Barquell Rivers, and many other teammates, along with his family. He has Virginia Tech up there with his other finalists, Clemson, Florida and North Carolina, where he is headed on his final official this weekend. He's intending to announce on National Signing Day, Feb. 2.

Grant visited Virginia last weekend and said the visit went well. He knew many of the current players and recruits on the visit, and said there is still a chance for the Cavs. Next up is UNC and Grant has already visited Ohio State and Florida. He will decide on signing day.

Raven committed to Ole Miss in early December. However, since his recruiter and position coach, Kim Dameron, was let go, the Rivals250 prospect reopened his recruitment.

Raven took official visits to Utah and Pittsburgh, but decided to commit on Monday to the school that finished No. 2 the first time. According to former East St. John head coach Larry Dauterive and junior teammates Gerron Borne and Darion Monroe, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound cornerback pledged to Texas A&M.

Though his teammates and coach confirmed the commitment, the nation's No. 12 corner and No. 151 overall prospect created some confusion when he texted RebelGrove.com on Monday evening that he had not committed to any school.

Sources close to Raven indicate that Ole Miss was out of the running when Dameron was let go and, although he tripped to Pitt, the Panthers were never a serious contender for his services. Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart recently asked for film but that has been the extent of its interest to this point.

As for Lane, Word started to leak on Monday he had committed to Tennessee. Lane fought back the reports, until his bus ride home from school when he decided to make it official.

"I committed to Tennessee," Lane said. "I was having a good day until sixth period and my phone started blowing up. I don't even know how many phone calls I got. My pockets were vibrating."

The dynamic Sunshine State running back chose the Vols over Miami, Florida State and others. In the end, the SEC was too much to pass up.

"It's the SEC," Lane said. "They are an uprising school and the people were amazing. I really like the coaching staff because they make it easy to fit in. I was looking for a pro-style offense and that is what they run. That was a big plus."

Jernigan update

Lake City (Fla.) Columbia defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan isn't the talkative type when it comes to recruiting, but one person he has shared a lot of information with is Columbia head coach Craig Howard.

Unlike the recent routine, after returning home from his official visit to Tallahassee to check out Florida State, Howard and Jernigan haven't had much of an opportunity to speak on Monday.

"He was busy taking tests today so I didn't really get a chance to visit with him today," Howard said. "I didn't really talk with him about his visit to Florida State. I wanted to get with him and get an update on how it went, but that didn't happen."

While Howard didn't speak with Jernigan, he did hear a bit of feedback in regards to the visit.

"I have heard that it went really well from other people," Howard said. "It sounds like he is highly interested in Florida State, looks like they are a front-runner."

Jernigan is considering Florida State, LSU, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee. Jernigan's final decision is supposed to come on National Signing Day and is expected to be televised on ESPN.

Two weeks after Trey GrissettClick More notesHere to view this Link., a three-star defensive end from Warner Robins (Ga.) Houston County, committed to UABClick More notesHere to view this Link., Florida has entered the picture. The Gators first showed interest in the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder early last year, and remained in contact throughout Grissett's senior season. But recently, Florida has ramped up its efforts.

Although the Gators have not yet offered Grissett, who committed to UAB shortly after visiting there Jan. 7, he thinks that may soon change.

When Rivals100 offensive tackle Christian Westerman switched his pledge from Texas to Auburn on Friday, the Longhorns looked to fill his spot in the class. They initiated communication with Clark and rumors began to swirl that he could make the switch to Texas. However, that does not appear to be the case after he was visited by new Longhorn offensive line coach Stacy Searels on Monday.

"(Texas) asked me if I was interested and things like that because they lost their commit or whatever," Clark said. "I told them I was committed to Texas Tech."

But if grayshirting is his best option, Pinkston may look elsewhere. Arizona, Iowa, Miami and North Carolina have started to show interest, he said. Additionally, Pinkston visited Northwestern State, which has offered, and came away impressed.